Time Changes Everything
by TenorChick
Summary: A series of oneshots chronicling the lives of Derek and Meredith through the years. Some MerDer fluff, with appearences by the rest of the cast likely.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Basically, if you recognize them from the show, they're not mine. **

**I'm thinking of making this into a series of oneshots documenting the lives of the Shepard clan over the years. Other Grey's characters will most likely make an appearance as well. Let me know what you think!**

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_Time passes. Without our realizing it, days turn into weeks and weeks turn into years. The dreams of youth have passed us by, and we see that nothing has turned out the way we planned. And you know what? That's ok with me. _

"…And so I told Katherine to tell Jimmy that my dress was lavender and that I thought orchids would look absolutely gorgeous as a corsage. And Heather showed me a picture of her dress and it's not nearly as pretty as mine, and we _finally_ got the limo reservation taken care of, thank goodness…"

Meredith Grey-Shepard half listened to her daughter's chatter as she began to prepare for the evening meal. It was hard to believe that Caroline was already approaching her high school graduation. In just over a month she could officially call her self an alumnus of Seattle's Jefferson Senior High School. Standing in front of that important milestone, however, was an even bigger one: the senior prom.

For the past three months Meredith had watched in amusement as Caroline and her friends had meticulously planned every detail of what they were sure would be the most important night of their young lives. Dates had been found (not without the usual drama!), dresses had been shopped for, the after-party had been planned, and now the big night was just a week and a half away.

As Caroline winded down her monologue and began setting the table for dinner, Meredith watched her with both pride and a hint of sadness. This daughter of hers, so dear to her and Derek, was the complete opposite of what she had been like at age eighteen. Caroline was bubbly and popular, but she had a stable head on her shoulders. She had lived the typical teenage life, full of parties and boyfriends and plenty of time for gossip with her girlfriends.

In just a few months, however, that would change. For while Caroline's high school years had been social ones, they were also years spent studying and earning a nearly 4.0 grade point average. Her hard work had paid off, and in the fall she would be heading across the country to attend New York's Columbia University in the hopes of one day becoming a journalist. So as much as Meredith enjoyed these rare afternoon conversations on her days off from work, it was starting to hit her that her only daughter, her only child for that matter, would soon be off on her own.

"I'll be in my room, Mom…call me when dinner's ready?" Caroline tore Meredith from her reverie as she finished setting the table. At Meredith's nod of acknowledgment, she headed out of the kitchen towards the staircase leading upstairs. At the same time, Meredith heard the front door open announcing Derek's return home from his shift at Seattle Grace. She smiled as she heard father greet daughter, and moments later heard her husband's footsteps heading towards the kitchen.

"Hey hon," Derek said, flashing her that famous "McDreamy" smile. Even after almost twenty years of marriage, it still made Meredith go weak in the knees.

Meredith greeted her husband with a slow, lingering kiss. That was another thing that hadn't changed in the last twenty years, as much as Caroline tried to deny it.

As they pulled apart, Derek noticed the look that still remained in his wife's eyes from her earlier daydreams.

"You alright today, Mer?" He asked as she turned back to stirring the pot of spaghetti sauce that was sitting on the stove.

"Hmm?" Meredith pretended to be absorbed in her task, not wanting to bring her feelings out in the open, but Derek knew her too well.

"You have that look in your eyes today. What's going on?"

"It's nothing, really."

"Mer," Derek was insistent as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Turn around and talk to me."

Sighing, Meredith obliged and locked her grey eyes with Derek's piercing blue ones. At this point in their marriage she knew it was useless to try and hide her emotions. He had learned long ago how to read her, and as much as she resisted, she loved him more every day for it.

"It's Caroline," she finally spoke. "She was talking to me about prom today, and it hit me that this is it. She graduates next month, and I don't know if I'm ready to let her go. She's still my little girl! Maybe if she'd chosen a school in state or closer to home it would be ok, but Derek, she's going across the damn country, and I hate it! I'm not ready to say goodbye." Emotions that had been hidden deep inside for some time finally made their way to the surface, and Meredith started sobbing as Derek pulled her close.

"It's hard for me, too, babe. She's our angel and we'll miss her like crazy, but she's ready for this. You know that. We did good with her, and she'll make us proud. Remember that."

Meredith sighed as her tears subsided. She knew exactly what Derek was saying; she just didn't know if she was ready herself. As they stood together in the quiet of the evening, memories of the daughter they'd raised ran through Meredith's head. Forgetting about the sauce simmering on the stove, she traveled back to a time over nineteen years ago, to a time before Caroline Elisabeth Shepard made her entrance into the world…

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**Should I continue? Read and Review, no flames please!**


	2. Surprise!

**Chapter 1**

_Seattle, approx. 2008_

It was a particularly slow Friday afternoon at Seattle Grace Hospital, and Meredith was taking advantage of it. After marathon shifts the last few days she was exhausted, so she took advantage of the quiet in between pages to unwind at her favorite spot in the hospital, the window with the view overlooking the Pacific.

Meredith had a lot on her mind at the moment. Cristina and Burke's wedding was in a week and she was supposed to make a toast as the maid of honor at their reception. Her internship was nearing completion and she'd soon be entering her residency.

But the biggest thing on her mind, the thing that was making Meredith the happiest but also the most scared she'd ever been in her life, was that she was pregnant.

She'd confirmed it three days earlier (with the help of Cristina) but hadn't found the right time to tell Derek. In between his brain surgeries and her intern schedule, they'd hardly seen each other all week. But tonight that would change, as they both got off work early. Derek was taking her out to dinner at some fancy place downtown, and she'd made up her mind to tell him then. While the timing of this "incident" wasn't perfect, and Meredith had for a brief moment considered not keeping the baby, she knew how much Derek looked forward to having children. That was reason enough to push any thoughts of ending the pregnancy to the back of her mind.

The beep of her pager startled Meredith, and she grinned when she saw that it was from Derek. With one last glance at the weather outside, she trotted off towards his office, where he was engrossed in a never-ending stack of paperwork.

Meredith knocked lightly on the door.

"You paged?" she asked.

Derek nodded and grinned.

"I convinced Bailey to let you off a little early today. I figured you wouldn't mind; give you a little extra time to get ready for tonight?"

"Oh…" Meredith said with surprise. "Well, sure, I guess if Bailey said it was ok. You'll be home in a little while then?" Derek nodded at her question.

Meredith smiled and rolled her eyes as she said goodbye and headed for the locker room. Derek never ceased to surprise her, that was for sure. She also knew how he didn't like to involve other members of the surgical staff in their personal life, so for him to go to Bailey meant that tonight was more than just another casual date in his eyes. She pondered for a moment. Was he up to something?

She was still thinking half-way out loud when Cristina came in as she was changing.

"Mer, are you alright?" she asked, noticing the glazed-over look in her friend's eyes.

"What? Yeah, I'm great," responded Meredith, scrub shirt half over her head.

"Right," Christina said sarcastically. "You tell Shepard yet?" She let her eyes rest on Meredith's stomach.

"I've hardly seen him this week, Cristina, you know that." Cristina didn't look convinced.

"We're going out tonight; I'm telling him then." Meredith gave her best friend a look that to most people would have signaled the end of the conversation, but Cristina clearly wanted to keep talking.

"Have you decided…" she lowered her voice. "Are you going to _keep_ it?"

Meredith sighed. They'd been through this. Cristina clearly thought that it was horrible for Meredith's career to think of having a child at this point, and Meredith was sick of hearing about it.

"Cristina," she said as she headed for the door, "thanks for your concern, but enough is enough. I'm having this baby, if not for me, then for Derek. We'll make it through, and I hope I'll have your support." With that, she headed out of the locker room and towards the front doors of Seattle Grace. She had a date to prepare for and a boyfriend to surprise.

A few hours later, Derek and Meredith stood hand in hand in front of _Bella Notte_, an Italian restaurant in the heart of downtown Seattle. Meredith wore a shimmering green cocktail dress, and Derek was dressed in a dark blue suit and tie.

Upon Derek's announcement of their arrival, the Maître d' escorted them to their table. As he brought out the wine list, Meredith inwardly cringed. She'd forgotten about this part.

"I think we'll go with the Chardonnay…" She realized Derek was looking at her for approval.

"Umm…yeah, sure…I'll probably just stick with water tonight though, got a bit of a headache, you know?" Meredith tried to laugh at herself, but knew it wasn't working when Derek raised a quizzical eyebrow in her direction. She quickly shut herself up.

"Chardonnay is fine," she said briskly, though she knew she wouldn't, _couldn't_ drink any.

The rest of the meal passed quickly, with Meredith insisting to a confused Derek that her drinking wine tonight just wouldn't be a good idea, because it might impair her for any emergencies that came up over the weekend at the hospital. She didn't think he really bought it, but the timing just wasn't quite right to bring up her news.

The pair also had to remind themselves on occasion to talk about matters other than their work and Seattle Grace. Meredith's upcoming ten-year college reunion, Derek's mother's possible visit to Seattle, and Burke and Cristina's wedding were just a few of the topics that they found to discuss.

Meredith swore she saw something pass over Derek's face as she recounted how Burke proposed, but a minute later she figured she must have imagined it, as his bright blue eyes were twinkling with laughter as they always did. Several times she thought of bringing up the pregnancy, but the timing just didn't seem right.

Before long the bill was paid and the pair had made their departure. However, instead of driving north towards Meredith's house, Derek took them to someplace neither of them had seen in nearly a year. He still owned the land on which his trailer had been parked, and though the trailer itself was gone, the location was perfect for what he now intended to do.

Meredith looked at her boyfriend questioningly as he parked the car.

"Derek, what are we doing here?" she asked.

"You'll see," he teased. He appeared lighthearted, but his heart was pounding in his chest. When Meredith's head was turned the other way he patted his suit coat pocket to make sure he still had what he needed. Satisfied that everything was in order, he grabbed Meredith's hand. He led her into the woods and out towards a clearing overlooking the creek that ran through the property.

Meredith breathed deeply. She'd been here before, years ago when she and Derek had walked Doc together, but it was different at night. The full moon cast its glow over the creek, and the crickets played their nightly songs. It was beautiful, the perfect setting for the life-changing announcement she wanted to make. She was about to open her mouth and spill her precious news when Derek cleared his own throat. Grabbing Meredith's hands in his, he captured her wondering gaze in his and began to speak.

"Meredith," he started, his voice faltering slightly at first, "three years ago I walked into Joe's looking for a short-term fix to my problems. What I found instead was someone that made me feel like those problems had never existed. Someone who reminds me every day what it means to be loved and to be in love. You are that someone, Meredith Grey, and I've known for a long time that I love you and would like nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

For a moment, Meredith was speechless, her face displaying nothing but a shocked sense of bewilderment. But after a few seconds, shock turned into pure joy.

"Yes, Derek Shepard, I will marry you," she answered, her grey eyes seeming to dance in the moonlight.

Derek grinned, pulled the ring out of his pocket, and carefully slid it onto his new fiancée's finger. He then took her in his arms and kissed her slowly and passionately.

As they broke apart, Meredith's eyes were shining. She had her own secret that she was now ready to share as well.

"Well, I'm not quite sure how to top your little surprise," she said, both teasingly and a little nervously, "But I have some news as well…" She paused to grab his hand for support. "Derek, I'm pregnant."

The look on his face at that moment was priceless, and Meredith only assumed it mirrored what hers had been minutes earlier. The same shocked look, followed by a look of blissful happiness came across the face of Derek Shepard.

"You mean, we're going to be parents? Together?" He was clearly having trouble keeping his excitement in check.

Suddenly a light bulb clicked in his head. "So that's why you wouldn't drink any of the wine at dinner! You didn't really have a headache, did you?"

Meredith looked sheepish for a moment, but grinned and leaned in to hug him. She opened her mouth to say something else, but changed her mind when she glanced up and saw the way Derek was looking at her. In that moment, standing there in the moonlight in each others' arms, they each knew that there was nowhere else they wanted to be. Together, they were ready to start their life together.


End file.
